The only thing better than living your best life is doing it with your best friend and our good sis Simone Smith and our forever man crush LL Cool J have been blessed enough to do both at the same damn time. The couple, who celebrated their silver anniversary earlier this month, are living proof that both Black marriage is alive and well in these streets and their throwback love story is everything we love to see.
In a previous interview with Jimmy Kimmel, LL revealed that their first encounter was on Easter by way of a mutual friend and the rest was history.
"I was just 19, something like that. It was Easter and I was driving down the block in my mother's car. He said, 'Hey, you wanna meet my cousin?' I looked over and said, 'Oh yeah, I'll meet your cousin.'"
After more than two decades of marriage, LL and Simone share three daughters and one son and say that they've maintained a happy, healthy relationship by keeping God first, which proved to be especially important when Simone was diagnosed with cancer more than 15 years ago. According to LL, who even offered to donate part of his own tibia bone to aid in Simone's recovery, it was important that he do everything in his power to support his partner in her time of need:
"You don't abandon someone in that foxhole, you know. You got to be there in that foxhole with them. So I made some decisions professionally and decided to be by Simone's side during that period."
Along with choosing a partner who can align with your purpose, the couple stresses the importance of removing your ego from your relationship dynamic. Simone told Oprah:
"Definitely putting God first. We both definitely come from a spiritual background and there's a lot of compromise. Picking your battles [and] respecting each other."
Featured image by Instagram/@sislovespurple.